CHAPTER 130

SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT'S IN STORE FOR HER

Occasionally, Emily Prentiss enjoyed an early morning start. The smell of coffee all around her kitchen could only ever be beaten by the smell of a good pizza, on a late night, after work, or, arguably, also by the cologne of a certain Derek Morgan, standing by her side when she was upset. That was it, those were the smells that excited her and made her feel complete. And maybe…possibly, she was now willing to add the scent of Richard's favorite perfume to that list.

And yet, as soon as her alarm went off, she wanted nothing more but to be done with this particular day.

She wasn't in the mood to prepare herself a breakfast, so she decided to stop by the Executive Lounge, before the morning meeting that the Director had requested, after her texts with Ben just hours ago last night. Emily still had no idea that it had been the Director to text her from Ben's phone, but she had the hunch that something was not right, anyways.

Driving without caffeine in her system made her feel even more on edge and this was barely a good thing. A ticked off Emily Prentiss was known to run her mouth and to blow up on people, and that, combined with the fact that she was meeting the Director half an hour later, was not a good thing either.

As soon as she was in the Lounge, she poured herself a generous amount of coffee - at least she was grateful that someone had just brewed a whole pot and had left lots of it, for the next person. At this point, she wouldn't care if the coffee was poisoned, sweetened, or spiked. She just needed it in her system. Desperately.

"Agent Prentiss…" Ben greeted her.

Of course he would be there. It was his tradition to check in on all the Unit Chiefs, every morning, before he would head to his office a few floors up.

"No. Don't talk to me. Stay away from me." Emily requested and when Ben opened his mouth to say another word, she simply walked to the opposite side of the Lounge.

For a long time she just stared at the wall, sitting on the armrest of one of the sofas.

Every now and then she would bring her mug to her lips and take a sip. She also grabbed two cookies to munch on, but she wasn't feeling hungry at all.

And then her phone buzzed. Sadly, it was not her primary phone. She figured Richard was texting her, but when the phone kept on buzzing something felt suspicious. He surely wasn't the type to send one short message after the other, like a teenager. He always wrote his entire message and then hit Send, once.

Holding her coffee with her right hand, she let her left hand slip into the pocket of her smart jacket, retrieving the buzzing phone.

It wasn't a bunch of texts that was making it buzz non-stop. He was actually calling her.

Her reflex made her hang up instantly. She didn't want him to listen to her whine about being in trouble with her Boss. She didn't want him to see or hear a side of her that was so negative and whiny.

But then she realized this was far from the reason why she had hung up.

If she had to be honest with herself, this new relationship was scaring her. Yes, it was cute to text and yes, she was excited to go and see him again. But she wasn't sure how she felt about hearing his voice on the phone. Was this what their future would look like – an endless series of texts and phone calls?

Also, this would be the first time they'd actually speak on the phone. Texting was one thing, but a conversation was a taking it a little further and the Emily Prentiss in her felt a bit intimidated.

Picking up for that first call was huge pressure…it was pressure that would only add up to the pressure that was already boiling inside of her.

"Hey, what's up?" She texted him quickly, before he would have the chance to go deep into thought and start wondering why she had hung up.

"Too much…too forward?" He replied with a question.

For the few seconds after she had hung up on him, he had figured out that calling her without a warning, especially for the first time ever, must have been a bit too invasive.

"Too soon." Emily replied honestly. She needed time, he knew this much.

"I'm sorry. I called on a whim. Is everything okay?" He texted again.

"Yeah. I just have a meeting this morning and I'm a bit on edge. Trust me, you don't want the first time hearing my voice on the phone to be today, of all days. I can be a little…hissy, for the lack of a better word."

"I have a good feeling I might be able to handle a hissy version of you. Might even enjoy it, too. Hey, I don't want to hold you back before that meeting, so I'll talk to you later, okay? Good luck and if this helps in any way, just remember that you are beautiful, you are loved and your team needs you today and every day! So go have a great day and keep them safe!"

Emily smiled, for the first time that morning. Richard had a poetic side to him, but it wasn't nauseatingly sweet, like in some Godawful romance novel that had clearly been written by a single female. He had his manly touch to his words and yes, he was a bit cheesy sometimes and yes, Emily Prentiss had lived her entire life hating cheesiness, but weirdly, with him, it worked. It was nice, even.

"Thank you. Have a good day as well. I'll text you later, during my lunch break." She replied and put the phone back in her pocket, still smiling.

Her eyes drifted to the huge clock, hanging on the wall, just right above the coffee machine. She now had about twelve minutes to get to the Director's office and the elevator trip would take her a minute and five seconds. Emily Prentiss was a nerd. She knew useless little details like those.

Giving herself a few more minutes to finish her cup of disgusting coffee, she walked over to the small message board. All the Unit Chiefs used it, to let go of some pent-up anger. They usually wrote anonymous messages about the things that were annoying them, within their Department, or they put up random little ads for things that someone from their colleagues might be able to help them with.

That day, though, Emily read the most ridiculous things on that board. A sigh was inevitable and so was a good old-fashioned Prentiss-style eye roll.

She grabbed the sponge and wiped the board clean. Nobody cared about other people's petty remarks, this was all drama. Someone had written three lines worth of emotional downpour, in regard to the 6% budget cut for their Unit. If Emily had to whine about the 40% cut in her Unit, she could write a freaking book about it and still have more to say, saving it for the sequel. But nobody cared, that was the point – nobody gave a crap about the other people's problems. Nobody was going to hold her hand and make it all go away. She was not a child. She needed to keep her chin up and figure out how to deal with her situation and that was precisely what she had been doing for weeks now.

"For a bunch of highly educated people, you sure are dumb as Hell!" Emily muttered to herself while making sure every spot on the board was wiped clean.

Leaving it empty would only mean one thing – the next dumb ass would find more space to pour out their dumb ass complaint.

So, being the quick thinker that she was, she came up with something.

Who was to say that - since she was clearly going to have a bad day; she was unable to make sure someone else's day would be better?

And then she remembered the reason why she had smiled, a few minutes ago. It was a cheesy text, but it had worked for her. It was worth the shot, she wanted to see if now it could be her to put a smile on someone else's face.

Quickly, she scribbled down a few words without signing her name or initials. This board had always been anonymous, except for when there was an actual request for something and someone needed to put their name, so they could be contacted. Plus, Emily wanted no credit for this. She could not care less about credit.

Realizing she now had only four minutes and a half until the meeting, she hurried out of the Lounge.

Ben had been watching her and his curiosity made him take a sneak peek to that message board, right after she wrote something and left.

"You are beautiful, you are loved!

Your team needs you today and every day!

So go have a great day and keep them safe!"

His lips formed a big smile, reading the words Emily had chosen to share with her fellow Unit Chiefs. She could have written so many things, but she chose that. And, in the cheesiest of ways, it was inspiring.

Ben knew the kind of Hell that Emily was expecting from the Director, a day after she had made the first step to filing that complaint against him and a night after she had called him an asshole. Granted, she had only texted that to Ben, but sadly it hadn't been as confidential as she might have liked it to be.

And yet, she was willing to do her best, to make sure someone else's day would be good, instead.

It spoke volumes about her character, as a person, as a Unit Chief, as a profiler.

"Good morning, Sir." Emily greeted, without her usual cordial smile.

She walked in the Director's office, bright and early in the morning, after he had asked to see her. This time, she did not wait for an invite before she sat down. She already knew this was going to be a long conversation.

"Good morning, Agent Prentiss." The man greeted her with a smile nonetheless.

With one hand he put his work phone on silent. No distractions were welcomed for the next few minutes. With the other hand he simply handed her a folder.

Emily rolled her eyes, as soon as she opened it and saw what the document inside really was.

"Damage control, so predictable." She said sarcastically.

"Read the date." The men kept on smiling.

This document had been officialized weeks ago, just days after the BAU Hearing. It was not recent and it most certainly had nothing to do with her filing that complaint against him just the previous day.

"Oh…" Emily gasped. How was this even real?

"There is no one else I'd rather send there, Agent Prentiss. Your hard work and devotion must finally pay off."

"But…Sir, the Hearing…the case, that case…" She was stunned. This was more than unexpected and way more than what she could process so quickly.

"Agent Prentiss, we are constantly thrown curveballs in life. You have showed courage while overcoming all the various obstacles that your Unit has gone through recently. In fact, you've been nothing but astounding since the moment you stepped in as Unit Chief. Now, the last time we saw each other, I told you that we've been keeping an eye on you for some time now. I wanted to give you this privilege last year, but due to political reasons…and I'm sure you'll understand the immense pressure that can be; I've been forced to postpone for this year." He spoke while pointing at the open file folder in Emily's hands.

Emily stood still and silent, just skimming through the document. This had not only been officialized, but also authorized and confirmed. Oh, this was happening.

"You seem confused…" He spoke when Emily failed to utter a word.

"Well, Sir, this is a bit too much to take in. I mean, I'm flattered, but I don't understand…"

"Take a moment. Let it sink in. You've worked hard for this. You deserve this."

"But Sir, I just called you an asshole yesterday and you don't even know it. You don't understand…this is not something I deserve."

The Director smirked. So, she had the balls to text his assistant those words, but she also had the balls to now confess to it, to the Director's face. And that spoke to her integrity, too.

"I've been called worse, Agent Prentiss. Now, please remind me, why is it that you were so fond of me, initially?"

"Sir, you've been with the Bureau for years. You have been re-elected as Director and that speaks volumes. People don't just fear you - they respect you! But people also like you. Me included. I've looked up to you, for years, because of your bravery, your service, your accomplishments, but mostly because…." Emily then stopped for a second.

"Because…?" He urged her. She needed to say it. He needed to hear it.

"Because of the way you treat your employees with respect, Sir. You've been nothing but kind and understanding. And it is hard to be a Leader, without turning into a Dictator. I would know - I have a team of eight and those are my friends, but those are also people I have to Boss around sometimes. Honestly, the kind of relationship I've built with my team, ever since becoming Unit Chief, has been inspired by you and your way of handling people with respect. Or so I thought…" She ended off with a scoff and another eye roll.

"Ah, there it is…" He kept on smiling and it was annoying Emily.

Was he enjoying this? What was his game? Did he ask her there, just to piss her off some more, so she could add a few more colorful words to the list of things she thought of him, right after 'asshole'?

"Agent Prentiss, let me tell you something. As Leaders, we sometimes have to break the bad news in less than conventional ways. I'm sure you can relate…" He spoke and she nodded, thinking of the many times she had been forced to speak to the team, against her own will. Telling them about the budget cuts was the most recent bad experience of that kind.

"All due respect, Sir…whatever respect I may still have left for you anyway…" Emily was holding her ground. She was pissed, but she was coming off as truthful and somewhat educated about it.

"I disagree with the way I've been treated and I am personally offended by it. So, that complaint is going through, even if it means I won't get to do this…" She put the file up. Yes, it was something Emily had wanted for years, but it was a small price to pay, in order to get justice.

"Ah yes. The complaint. You got Ambassador Prentiss to sign, I am impressed." He smirked.

She hated how he was toying with her. Why couldn't he just come out and say it, whatever it was that he was dancing around?

"Why do you want the girl?" He changed the topic abruptly, taking her off guard as he took it from 'strictly professional' to what sounded and felt like way too personal of a thing to ask her.

He saw the shift in her emotions, he saw how her lips became more stiff. It was one thing to defend herself, but a whole new different thing to defend that request of hers. He could tell how strongly she felt about it.

"You can go ahead and re-read that e-mail I sent everyone. It explains everything." Emily said defensively, crossing her legs like a lady. At least that would give her some composure. Maybe.

"I've read it about ten times, if not more, but it only speaks about the girl and her abilities. Now, my question is: Why do you, Emily Prentiss, want her so badly? On a personal level."

Her eyes wandered around for a second, trying to come up with the right words.

"I'm just asking you to be honest with me. Forget about our positions at the Bureau. Don't think like Agent Prentiss. I need to hear it from Emily. Come on…try it."

She felt more than comfortable being herself with Ben, but he had known him for years. They had briefly worked together before and she had saved his ass that one time. They kind of shared a connection. He was still her Superior, but she was not intimidated by him when they spoke in private.

This, however, was the freaking Director of the FBI. He was the top of the top, on top of the ladder. He could ruin her. With the snap of his fingers, this man could destroy her, wiping out all of the accomplishments that she had worked so hard for, for so many years. One unspoken word, coming out of this man's mouth, could be the end of Agent Emily Prentiss and she knew it.

He could also make her - turn her into someone she had always wanted to be. He could give her a push in the right direction. He could be that one missing ingredient that would finally allow Emily Prentiss to make history.

It all depended on how she played her cards and so far, she had called him an 'asshole' both on text and to his face, right after filing a complaint with the Government, against him.

Emily cringed, realizing all of that. And yet, she'd never stoop so low as to kiss someone's ass for favors – Boss or not! She had an opinion and she'd voice it; she had her dignity and she'd defend it; she had a goal and she'd be careful whom she'd align with, in order to achieve it, but she'd never sell herself out, in order to get to the top.

Little did she know, the Director was painfully aware of all of this, which was what had fueled his interest in her a while back.

"You want Emily to talk? Fine, this is Emily then. Emily was in one of the darkest places in life, when this girl came along. Emily was not even Emily, when this girl made her smile, made her walk and talk, think and act like Emily again. Emily was as good as dead, when this girl gave her a reason to want to live. Emily had missed out on so much in life, when this girl waltzed in her life and made up for so much, giving her something she had always wanted…something she had once lost. Sir, you want to know why Emily cares about this girl so much? Well, so do I! I want to know how is it possible for one tiny human being to just appear out of nowhere and to change someone's entire life for the better? How could one girl make me want to keep holding my head high and to keep taking all of the Bureau's digs, one after the other, constantly. I want nothing more than to be the best Goddamn version of Emily Prentiss - for me, for my team, for the Bureau, for all those victims out there…and for her. I want to be an example for her and I want her to look up to me and strive to be just like me - exactly like me! I want her to be the girl that I…uhh, the girl that I wanted to be when I was her age, because in reciprocation, she already is the girl that I want her to be - the girl I wanted to have at my age now."

He smiled wider now. Genuinely. What Emily had just depicted was the image of a parent, wanting to be the best example their child could ever have. And there was no doubt that Angela would be the picture perfect child in Emily's mind – smart beyond belief, an overachiever, hardworking, beautiful, wanting more out of life and fighting for what she believed in, never backing down. How could she not be Emily's dream kid? She was, quite literally, an exact replica of that woman, in any kind of way, but especially when it came to that attitude of hers. Plus, Angela was complicated in so many ways and the Director believed that if someone had to parent her and succeed at it, that could only ever be Emily Prentiss and nobody else.

After a moment of steadying her emotions and taking her breath, the Director's reaction to that downpour of Emily-related stuff, made her chuckle nervously. Why was he smiling? And why was Angela a child in both of their minds, at this very moment?

"Now, Emily…If you respect me so much and if you trust me, like you always have, will you do something for me?"

She perked up, awaiting his request.

"Your complaint documents have been processed by our offices and are ready to be officially filed with the Government. I signed them personally. It is up to you to just hit the Send button now and screw me over…"

Why did she have the feeling he was now going to give her a summarized version of his Plan B?

"Or you could sit on your ass and keep having faith in me." He added cheekily.

Have faith in him? Why? He had already shot her down.

"Sir, with all due respect…I don't let anyone treat me the way you did, Director or not." Emily pointed out.

"Yes, and that is precisely why your name is on that document." He pointed at the papers that she had been clutching on to ever since he had handed them to her.

She looked like a happy child, holding on to that folder, gripping its sides with all fingers. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out just how excited she was to hold a paper like this, with her name on it.

"But patience is a virtue, Agent Prentiss. Good things come to people who wait."

"I don't think I'm following…" Emily confessed.

Were they still talking about Angela or did the subject shift back to Emily, herself?

"A denial at one point in life could easily turn into a confirmation. In other words – it's not about being granted what you wish for, but it's rather about when it would be the right time to be granted that wish." He hadn't planned on saying anything concrete, but this woman was not getting his point, at all, so he decided to elaborate a little bit.

"Oh?" Her eyes pierced right through him and he saw a certain desperation, a glimpse of hope in them.

"I have made up my mind, when it comes to your request, Agent Prentiss. A very long time ago, actually. And my decision did not change when you barged into my office the last time. It did not change when Miss Garcia did the same, right after you. It did not change when I authorized your complaint against me just yesterday. And it won't change, whether you send that complaint in or not. My decision is my decision and it is final."

Emily gulped. So, this was it? It was a 'No' and there was no changing his mind?

And what on Earth did he mean that Garcia had barged into his office? When? Emily had absolutely no idea such thing had happened and with the amount of tears she had shed in her office after the Director had been so rude and dismissive with her that one day, Emily found it plausible that she wouldn't have noticed if the damn roof collapsed right on top of her. She had been way out of her right mind that day, when he carefully planned out petition had been shot down in such a brutal manner.

"Chin up, Agent Prentiss. The mere fact that I've turned it down when your request first came in, doesn't mean this was my final decision. Let me put it this way: When you told your team about the budget cut, did you agree with it?"

She shook her head.

"Did it go against your own beliefs?"

She nodded.

"Was there anything - anything at all, that you could have done about it, at that moment in time?"

She shook her head again.

"Does it mean that you, Agent Prentiss, were okay with the decision to cut the budget? Or that you were in any way able to change the fact that, at that moment, this was what needed to happen?"

She shook her head, slowly starting to come to one conclusion: What if he had been forced to deny her request, because of things that did not depend on him, at the time? What if this was now his way of communicating to her that denying her request was not what he would have personally liked to do? Did she need to sit on her ass and wait…for the time to be right, so that his real decision could be pronounced?

"Ah, finally, Agent Prentiss. Finally!" The man let out a sigh of relief when he saw a smile creep up on Emily's face, showing him that she was warming up to what was actually going on, behind the curtains.

He had never had to sweat so much, convincing a woman of something. Emily was so incredibly headstrong that it had taken him five different ways of communicating it to her, but he was finally seeing results.

"So, file this complaint or not, my decision would not change. I've already signed the papers I was supposed to. The rest is not up to me. I'm sure you, out of all people, would understand the political aspect of this and that even a man like me has to wait out on deadlines and ask permissions. Also – I did not give you this folder now, as a lame damage control attempt. I had planned on giving this to you later on this month, but I felt like it is a good enough compromise for you to have it now, and I'm hopeful that you would understand what my intentions towards you are."

"Yes, Sir!" Emily wanted to get down on her knees and bow to his feet. If she had grasped it right - there was hope. And hope was all that she needed.

After a long moment of comforting silence, the profiler in Emily could not help it anymore.

"What's your personal involvement?" She came out and asked.

He knew that she would ask that.

"Let's just say that I am, personally, very much interested in the well-being of this young girl, okay?"

"Why?" Emily insisted.

He had begged her to come out and confess her secret personal reasoning behind that request, so she would do the same to him now.

"Tell me, Agent Prentiss…is there a secret out there - some truths that you are protecting?" He challenged her.

She bit her bottom lip, but she could have simply just nodded instead. Both gestures gave him the same non-verbal answer.

"So am I." He stood up and nodded, as a final greeting.

It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that he was done talking and he needed her out of his office.

"Thank you, Sir." Emily whispered, her voice cracking a little bit, as she also stood up.

Her right hand extended and he thought she was going in for a handshake. However, when he tried to extend his hand for one, she shook her head and pointed at the printed complaint paper that was now sitting on his desk.

A second after he handed it to her, she destroyed the paper. Yes, she could have printed millions of copies of it just minutes later, but it wasn't about the piece of paper itself. It was about the gesture. It simply communicated that she had restored her faith in him, she once again saw him as the Director that she had respected and looked up to, for so many years.

"Sir, if I may…" She turned around, as he was walking her to the door.

"I hope that, one day, I am half as good at my job as you are." She added shyly.

"You already are, Agent Prentiss." He smiled politely, waiting for her to walk out of the office before he closed the door.

"God, she has no idea what's in store for her…" He muttered to himself, walking back to his desk with a grin on his face.

"Here you are. Where have you been? We've been waiting for the briefing." JJ welcomed Emily into the Bullpen, as soon as she re-appeared from that Director meeting.

"Yeah, sorry. Got uh, got stuck in line at the drive thru." Emily said with a huge grin on her face.

JJ eyed her up and down. Who did she think she could fool? They had all seen Emily's car already at the parking lot, when they had arrived to work in the morning.

"Uh-huh." JJ nudged Emily and they walked to the meeting room together.

"Good morning, my loves. Sadly, it wasn't as good for him…" Garcia greeted them with a photo on the screen.

"Or him…" She changed the photo.

"Or, oh God…him…poor him…" She showed a third picture and nearly lost it, just briefly glancing at it.

"Wow, we've seen things, but this brings 'disturbing' to a whole new level." Rossi commented, looking away as well.

"I'm not ready for this. Nope." Tara cringed and put a hand on her mouth. It was way too early for something as graphic.

Emily, however, did not even flinch.

"So, three victims. MO seems to be consistent, I notice stab wounds, like…everywhere…" Emily pointed out after walking to the screen and taking a good look at all three photos, consequently.

"McAllen, Texas, has kindly invited us to make sense of…that…those…eww." Garcia informed them, pointing at the screen without daring to look at it again.

"I better get my hands on a good barbecue this time!" Luke commented underneath his breath.

Last time the BAU had worked in Texas, they had been in a rush to leave immediately after closing the case and none of them had been able to enjoy some good Texan food.

"Right there with you, my friend!" JJ, the meat lover, commented silently.

"Cannibals…ugh." Garcia cringed, being the only vegetarian on the team.

"Wheels up in 30." Emily murmured her usual response to having just been assigned to a case.

Those words just rolled off her tongue so naturally, that she sometimes had to think back and wonder if she had even just said them. At times, she'd repeat them twice, as her mind was playing tricks on her and the ease with which she always said those words made it equally as easy to forget she had just pronounced them.

Ever since she bounced back from the Mr. Scratch case, the 'Wheels Up' line had become something more than a 'Go' for the team, but especially to her. It represented the team's strength, their ability to just up and go, without even knowing all the details yet. To Emily, 'Wheels Up' meant dedication, it was the desire eight people shared – a desire to catch the UnSub and make the world a better place, day after day, case after case.

'Wheels Up' was also a vocal reminder for Emily – a spoken memory of having fought her way out of the hands of someone as prolific and dangerous as Mr. Scratch. And each time she said that line to her team, she'd smile to herself, thinking of how she had never broken down, thinking how she never told this man where to find Hotch and his son Jack. She had saved another little boy's life and those words would always remind her of that and of how incredibly strong she had been, not to break. She was proud of herself, each time she'd say those words, because to her they meant that she had a full team, with healthy Agents who were ready to hit the road instantly. They were warriors. They were heroes. And they were hers – her team, her friends…her family.

"We'll debrief on the plane." She added, holding the folder that Garcia had handed her at the beginning of the meeting.

In her other hand, she was still holding the folder that the Director had given her earlier. Each time her eyes laid on it, she grinned wide, like an idiot. This was an amazing opportunity that she was being given and the best part was that she knew she fully deserved to be part of whatever the project described on those papers inside was. And Emily Prentiss knew exactly what it was – the one thing she had wanted to do for years!

She felt inspired, she felt appreciated and she felt like her hard work was finally paying off. Who knows – maybe if this lifelong dream of hers had been granted now…maybe, just maybe that other request of hers would be granted, too? As soon as she had heard the Director speak about the 'political' side of things, she had realized that her request had not been the innocent 'yes-or-no' type of a request that she thought it would be. It all boiled down to timing and she knew that if she had been given a 'Yes' answer at the wrong time, it would have done more harm than good, both to her and to Angela. So, for the time being, she chose to restore her faith in the Director and to wait it out.

But, for the next few days, she had to put all those thoughts aside and focus entirely on the new case. The best part of it was that the team had plenty of time to work this case and then fly back to Quantico to file all the paperwork, before Emily would have her long weekend with Richard, in Paris. Everything seemed to be going smoothly and, for once, Emily did not feel that nagging pain in her stomach from overthinking things and having to worry about every little detail. This time, the timing was impeccable.

REVIEW REPLIES:

"sweetkid45" Ohhh, Emily won't even think of going back to the Interpol, hehe! Later on this option might be available for her, but you'll find out what she thinks about it. She sure can pack up and go back to London whenever she wants to, as she will have a job there...they liked her a lot. And remember Mark - her British boyfriend? Well, she seemed to be doing just fine back then, but was she REALLY doing fine!? Or was it a front? She already remembered in the flashback, how she had been contacting Rossi and telling him how she felt in her relationship. It didn't sound like a healthy lifestyle. There is no way Emily would choose to leave the BAU again...or, is there? And yeah, she isn't done fighting for Angela, but she might need to change up her game, to be able to adapt to what the battlefield is offering her. We'll see what happens next :)!

"rmpcmfan" (Hi, this is going to be a LONG reply, so everything until the end is for YOU!) You bet'cha, Emily won't back down when she feels she has been treated wrong! Yes, such a complaint with the Government is HUGE and it maybe crazy of her to file it, but she defends herself (and her team, when needed) fiercely and legally - remember, she could have easily found personal dirt on the Director and taken him down like their ex Section Chief. But she chose to put her entire career on the line instead, just to go legal and to fight with dignity.

LOL the Ambassador showed very little interest in that phone call, but mind how she immediately signed those papers for Emily? Maybe there's a reason Emily recently said that 'Prentiss women have each others' back'. Oh and Emily might need more therapy after that phone call...poor Emsie!

Ufff, yeah don't be too hopeful that Emily lets Richard know her truth or allows him to speak his own truth to her. She's terrified that those words might take away the one thing she had wanted her entire life, that one thing she is now slowly building with him, despite the long-distance obstacles. The stronger she feels about him, the more she doesn't want to know his truth. In a way, Emily has lived her life in lies - undercover, always pretending to be someone she is not...so subconsciously she now thinks this is the best way to go, when it comes to this relationship, too. Yes, she is herself, but she wants him to remain a mystery, because she has a gut feeling whoever he might turn out to really be, might be someone like Ian Doyle, in which case she wouldn't be able to take it, mentally.

JJ must have thought Emily meant the secrets (her job) she's been hiding from Richard, so she didn't think much of it. Oh boy, would she soon start to understand that maybe Emily has other secrets deep down inside...

Richard is more than sure that Emily would NEVER leave her job and colleagues/family. So, their relationship would have to work around that. However, would it be him or would it be someone else who'd facilitate things? We'll see :P Also, Emily very much enjoys her trips to Paris and she's not against traveling to Europe, even for just a few days. Remember she spent a lot of time in Europe, so it kind of feels like a second home to her. But in the long run, she doesn't see herself moving there, unless the BAU moves with her, LOL!

The Director...oh my God, you ain't ready for this, lol! He's putting Emily and the BAU through Hell! Whatever he is looking for, he has been noticing in Emily for a long time now. In this current chapter you just saw how he gave her documents for something she had wanted for a long time now (to be revealed later on). And more than that - he gave her hope. And yeah, Emily backed down with that complaint, but not because she chickened out under pressure. She backed down because she finally understood his reasoning behind turning her down so harshly and she knows nothing can be done against politics anyway. She really does respect that man and she was stunned that he could ever treat her like this, after she had worshiped him for years! However, she might slowly be realizing that even the big Boss sometimes doesn't have the final word on select things, so she may just need to be patient now...or to come up with a new scheme, lol! According to you...knowing Emily - which one will it be? LOL!